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Steve Alexander

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Mock Draft: Version 7

Here is Version 7 (definitely the last one) of our NBA Mock Draft, posted on Thursday, June 24. The draft is about 5-6 hours from now and I am not happy with how Version 6 (yesterday's) turned out. It now appears that Derrick Favors is going to the Nets (again), leaving the Wolves with Wesley Johnson, but of course, that could change in a moment's notice. According to many people, the Top 7 picks are set in stone, but that sounds a little too easy. In any case, here's my best guess at what might happen tonight.

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It's probably going to be Favors here, but there's also still a chance they could take Wesley Johnson. I had Favors here for most of these mocks and should have just left him there in the last version.

David Kahn should get his man – if he doesn't trade the pick and if the Nets don't pull a fast one on the Wolves. Minnesota is desperately trying to move Al Jefferson, which is something to keep in mind as well.

I had Al-Farouq Aminu going here in Version 6, which was really bugging me. Either I'm a genius and the only person on the planet who thinks he'll go that high, or I'm an idiot. I'm caving to the pressure and dropping Aminu, and giving the Warriors the best-passing big man in the draft. And if the GSW takes Aminu, I am going to be crushed.

All signs are pointing to the Pistons taking Davis if Cousins and Monroe are off the board, but Davis is a tough guy to get a read on. Horrible season for the Tar Heels and plenty of question marks about his work ethic. He should have come out last year.

I had Gordon Hayward here in Version 6, but nearly lost sleep over it. I've had Hayward going to Indy all along, and am going back to that. I was also losing sleep over having Aminu so high, but at No. 8 to the Clippers feels right. I'm also going to go ahead and call Aminu the steal of the draft, and my sleeper pick for Rookie of the Year.

The Jazz will likely need a replacement for free agent Kyle Korver, as well as some insurance for oft-injured Andrei Kirilenko. Babbitt is a sharp shooter whose stock has risen over the last couple weeks. Ed Davis is also a real possibility, as are any players listed above who slip through the cracks.

The Hornets are set at point guard with Chris Paul, have a promising young shooting guard in Marcus Thornton, David West at power forward and Emeka Okafor at center. Small forward is a serious need due to the age and injury history of Peja Stojakovic, and If Davis, Babbitt or Hayward falls this far, the Hornets are going to throw a party. If they're all gone, George is the guy who makes the most sense, and could end up being the steal of the draft.

It sounds like the Grizzlies really fell in love with George, but the Hornets, or another team, could easily swoop in and steal him. Zach Randolph isn't going to be around forever and Darrell Arthur hasn't exactly knocked anyone's socks off. Udoh averaged 14 & 10 at Baylor, but will probably be more of a role player in the NBA. Patrick Patterson is also a real possibility here. Udoh could also end up going much higher, as the Warriors and Pacers both love him. In fact, It wouldn't surprise me to see the Warriors take Udoh and the Pistons get Monroe, or for the Pacers to take Udoh instead of Hayward if both are available at 10.

Chris Bosh seems good as gone in Toronto, while Andrea Bargnani is a center only on paper. Additionally, Hedo Turkoglu wants out and the team is shopping Jose Calderon. Pick and position in Toronto, and there's likely a hole to fill. We had Daniel Orton going here for a minute, but his stock is falling faster than BP's. We also had Aldrich going much higher in the previous version, and while he could still land in Detroit, Toronto feels more likely to happen at this point.

The Rockets have Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin, but also don't really need any more big men who aren't centers. Henry's draft position is up in the air and he could easily go 10 picks later than this, although we have a feeling his stock is rising.

Patterson reminds us of guys like Carl Landry, DeJuan Blair and Jason Thompson, and could end up being a double-double machine. The Bucks have needs at several positions, and could really go in any direction here. They are said to like Henry with this pick, but we've got him off the board to the Rockets. Patterson's stock has been all over the board, but it seems like he'd be a good fit with Scott Skiles and his overachieving squad of guys many casual fans have never heard of.

Here is Version 7 (definitely the last one) of our NBA Mock Draft, posted on Thursday, June 24. The draft is about 5-6 hours from now and I am not happy with how Version 6 (yesterday's) turned out. It now appears that Derrick Favors is going to the Nets (again), leaving the Wolves with Wesley Johnson, but of course, that could change in a moment's notice. According to many people, the Top 7 picks are set in stone, but that sounds a little too easy. In any case, here's my best guess at what might happen tonight.

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Follow me on Twitter for quick breaking news, draft updates, trade news and anything you'd want to know about in the offseason.

It's probably going to be Favors here, but there's also still a chance they could take Wesley Johnson. I had Favors here for most of these mocks and should have just left him there in the last version.

David Kahn should get his man – if he doesn't trade the pick and if the Nets don't pull a fast one on the Wolves. Minnesota is desperately trying to move Al Jefferson, which is something to keep in mind as well.

I had Al-Farouq Aminu going here in Version 6, which was really bugging me. Either I'm a genius and the only person on the planet who thinks he'll go that high, or I'm an idiot. I'm caving to the pressure and dropping Aminu, and giving the Warriors the best-passing big man in the draft. And if the GSW takes Aminu, I am going to be crushed.

All signs are pointing to the Pistons taking Davis if Cousins and Monroe are off the board, but Davis is a tough guy to get a read on. Horrible season for the Tar Heels and plenty of question marks about his work ethic. He should have come out last year.

I had Gordon Hayward here in Version 6, but nearly lost sleep over it. I've had Hayward going to Indy all along, and am going back to that. I was also losing sleep over having Aminu so high, but at No. 8 to the Clippers feels right. I'm also going to go ahead and call Aminu the steal of the draft, and my sleeper pick for Rookie of the Year.

The Jazz will likely need a replacement for free agent Kyle Korver, as well as some insurance for oft-injured Andrei Kirilenko. Babbitt is a sharp shooter whose stock has risen over the last couple weeks. Ed Davis is also a real possibility, as are any players listed above who slip through the cracks.

The Hornets are set at point guard with Chris Paul, have a promising young shooting guard in Marcus Thornton, David West at power forward and Emeka Okafor at center. Small forward is a serious need due to the age and injury history of Peja Stojakovic, and If Davis, Babbitt or Hayward falls this far, the Hornets are going to throw a party. If they're all gone, George is the guy who makes the most sense, and could end up being the steal of the draft.

It sounds like the Grizzlies really fell in love with George, but the Hornets, or another team, could easily swoop in and steal him. Zach Randolph isn't going to be around forever and Darrell Arthur hasn't exactly knocked anyone's socks off. Udoh averaged 14 & 10 at Baylor, but will probably be more of a role player in the NBA. Patrick Patterson is also a real possibility here. Udoh could also end up going much higher, as the Warriors and Pacers both love him. In fact, It wouldn't surprise me to see the Warriors take Udoh and the Pistons get Monroe, or for the Pacers to take Udoh instead of Hayward if both are available at 10.

Chris Bosh seems good as gone in Toronto, while Andrea Bargnani is a center only on paper. Additionally, Hedo Turkoglu wants out and the team is shopping Jose Calderon. Pick and position in Toronto, and there's likely a hole to fill. We had Daniel Orton going here for a minute, but his stock is falling faster than BP's. We also had Aldrich going much higher in the previous version, and while he could still land in Detroit, Toronto feels more likely to happen at this point.

The Rockets have Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin, but also don't really need any more big men who aren't centers. Henry's draft position is up in the air and he could easily go 10 picks later than this, although we have a feeling his stock is rising.

Patterson reminds us of guys like Carl Landry, DeJuan Blair and Jason Thompson, and could end up being a double-double machine. The Bucks have needs at several positions, and could really go in any direction here. They are said to like Henry with this pick, but we've got him off the board to the Rockets. Patterson's stock has been all over the board, but it seems like he'd be a good fit with Scott Skiles and his overachieving squad of guys many casual fans have never heard of.

They've got Jonny Flynn (and eventually (maybe) Ricky Rubio) to run the point, and Corey Brewer at shooting guard. Anderson looks like an NBA swingman, and while he won't be a great player, he is a very good shooter – and Minnesota could certainly use one of those.

The Heat are obviously desperate for a point guard, so they may throw Bradley out there and see if he sticks – if he's still available. He loves to shoot and isn't the fastest guy around, but should be able to have a decent NBA career. It's possible Bradley could end up going much higher, but for now, our guess is the Heat would love to get their hands on him. He could also go much earlier, if the Pacers decide they want to draft a point guard.

Alabi averaged 9.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and a school-record 2.1 blocked shots in 77 games for the Seminoles. The Celtics now have to worry about the knee of Kendrick Perkins and the retirement of Rasheed Wallace, so this pick may make more sense than any others outside of the Top 5.

Whiteside will be a bit of a project, but is still a possible lottery pick. His wingspan is huge and he's been impressive in workouts. He should become a defensive specialist, somewhat like a junior version of Marcus Camby. But it could take him a few years to develop and the Spurs could use some young big men. Whiteside qualifies, and there aren't many guys with as much upside as he has.

New reports have Orton falling out of the first round, but I am still not sure I believe it. He's got size and talent, as well as some Cousins-like concerns about his behavior, maturity and conditioning. But now that we're talking about a pick outside of the Top 20, you can throw 'risk vs. reward' out the window. The Thunder still need a young center they can develop, and Orton looks like just that.

The Blazers have never been afraid to roll the dice on European players, although Kevin Pritchard won't be calling the shots much longer. The Blazers are long on centers, but not too deep at power forward, and might be willing to stash Seraphin for a year or two.

If the Wolves follow my script, they may not need a small forward like Pondexter here. But Ryan Gomes may not be the long-term answer at SF for the Wolves, and Pondexter will surely be in play here. He's aggressive and quick, and could become a solid bench player for the Wolves. He could also fall into the second round.

Lawal not only went to high school in Atlanta, but college as well. He also had a good workout for the Hawks recently and fits a need in their frontcourt. Ideally, the Hawks would like to get a true center, but picking this late, Lawal might be the best thing they're going to get.

Rudy Gay is a free agent and Zach Randolph is entering the last year of his contract, so the Grizzlies might need a small forward ASAP. James may not be around at No. 25, but would be the pick if he falls. James seems to have all the tools to be a quality combo forward in the NBA, but will need to improve his jump shot.

Crawford is mostly famous for dunking on LeBron James last year, but he's quickly making a name for himself with dynamic workouts for NBA teams. He's starting to look like a sure bet to go in the first round, and the Nets might take the bait. They're a little heavy already at shooting guard with Courtney Lee and Chris Douglas-Roberts, but neither of those players is really guaranteed to play their way into being must-starts for the Nets. And if the Nets end up with Favors at No. 3, they're going to want a player who can step in and go right away.

Zach Randolph is in the last year of his contract and Brackins' stock is on the rise. He's got a high basketball IQ and is a team player in every sense of the word. Darrell Arthur doesn't look like the answer, but Brackins might be.

White is freakishly athletic and has as much potential as any player outside of the Top 5. He is inconsistent and might lose concentration at times, but with Vince Carter's future in Orlando (and the NBA) running out of steam, taking White here makes sense.

Jones is a combo guard out of South Florida who could slide into Round 2. He can create his own shot and looks like he'll play shooting guard in the NBA. The Wizards need all the help they can get, and Jones could be a solid NBA player, backing up Arenas.

Steve "Dr. A" Alexander is the senior editor for the NBA for Rotoworld.com and a contributor to NBCSports.com. The 2014-15 NBA season marks his 13th year of covering fantasy hoops for Rotoworld. Follow him on Twitter - @Docktora.Email :Steve Alexander